Blending but Bleeding
by Riley Killer
Summary: When a god rips you from your family to save somebody elses world, you get some baggage... For one private investigator, that was always in her job description. That doesn't mean she has to be happy about it, or have to like dealing with the Avengers to get it done.
1. Shadows

The sound of sirens that blared in her ears caused dark glazed over eyes to look up towards the ceiling. The red gleam that lit up scarred features faded in and out of sight. The air around her was cold and biting, but she could barely feel a thing from the corner of her cell, her knees up to her chest and her lips turned into a simple neutral line.

Black nails' bit her skin as she clung to her knees, the issued khaki pants they shoved her in upon arrival, doing very little to fight the sting. Her blonde hair fell in front of her face when her forehead fell to her knees. She had been in this cell for days; keeping the time by the seconds counted off in her head and the meals they brought her.

The darkness which once felt so inviting, was filled with treachery as it creeped back in and out. Chased away by the red light from the alarm, only to come trotting back like a loyal hound that nipped at her heels to remind her what she was: The Monster.

For a moment, she had had bliss, and love. She had everything she wanted, children, a loving partner, a strong spouse to fight the terrors with her. She forgot what she was, and this was the penance. She could feel the wet tears as they began to roll down her cheeks, and blinked numbly into the dark despite her body's attempt to channel the emotion. Her mind an ocean of whispers as they reminded her of the thing that wouldn't be.

There would be no watching her children to grow. There would be no more nights of sweet pillow talk with her love. No more interlaced fingers, or playful nips. No more hand in hand walks or soft voices. No more gazing at her children as they created and accomplished small and large goals or slept, precious life flowing through them through each breath. Her teeth gritted as she felt the sharp pain of agony well in her chest, her nails unlatched from her legs as she wrung her hands before dragging them through her hair.

She'd been called many names: a ghost, a monster, a killer, a fighter, lover, warrior; hero. But none had been as precious as to have been called 'Mother.' A whimper between bared teeth escaped her.

She would never be called word again.

The lord had ripped her from that world though, like pulling a tick embedded in the skin for too long; and threw her into this cesspit and despair, mocking her ability to run like she had by ensuring her position compromised in her new assignment and guaranteeing her capture and incarceration; with a promise that upon her completion, she would never be deployed to that world again.

He would hide it from her, and steal away the life she'd made in absence of her post. He would ensure she never saw it again. And as one of his many warriors, there was nothing she could do about it.

And even worse, she knew there would never be anything in the schemes of reality, she could do about it.

The pain in her chest grew, and a feral shriek ripped from her to commingle with the alarm. The alternating red and black of the alarm eventually died down, but the sobs that wracked her body were what coaxed her exhausted scarred form into a dreamless sleep.


	2. Ghosts

**_Disclaimer:_** _I own a lot of things in this story, but the avengers universe ain't one of them._

 ** _Note:_** _I am in between flights, so here's another chapter! Thank you for those who read the first! It is greatly appreciated and I love the feedback. If you are following and got a notice about the second chapter earlier, apologies. When it posted, a lot of formatting HTML popped up and was weird, I had to go through and reedit the chapter. But no worries! Here it is in all its' glory!_

* * *

The alarm was going off again. She was on her tenth day of counting, or eleventh. She'd lost count some time ago and had to start over. The meals were no longer coming. The red light started up again, blinking on and off, and she stared at it from her lying position, her body bare except for the underwear she had, now dirtied and stained. She had desensitized the scent of filth though some two thousand seconds ago. They'd at least given her the grace of a toilet, if that was what she could call the hole in the ground with a wooden seat over it.

Her missing clothes lay under her head as a pillow in the meantime. They'd forced her into the clothes after four men had tackled and wrestled her to the ground upon arrival, the comfortable ones she'd had removed. She was just as shocked as they were to see her as she was them upon landing though. A new mission arrival right into the base of some lunatic… Due to a decade away from the post, she'd lost most of her reflexes to move and dodge them in time… so here she was. She'd had time to think. Nothing favorable, but the wailing and sobs that had exhausted now only left a dull ache in her chest. One that foresaw like all things, would numb over time and leave a comfortable empty hole... Soft jabs of fresh agony and pain would pierce her mind when she let it wander too far back, however.

So she kept counting, even when she thought it useless to this point; sometimes out loud in a rasp just to hear another voice, but other times with forced thought in her head, making sure it was her voice she thought in, and not allowing the playful chants of 'one, two, three, ready or not mommy, here I come' to invade them. If she let her mind wander to far, her love's voice would whisper in her mind, a hauntingly coax into indulging the auditory hallucination. She did not contemplate escaping from this small place yet; though she knew while not in here, but in the plan of all things, there was a clock ticking away the seconds until destruction would wreck this world.

She could almost smile as contemplated the possibilities of the mission jus allowing her to waste away instead of attempting to stop it though; doomsday was such nasty business. That way though, she would be able to stop thinking, and be nothing at all. It was a nice thought, if not a useless one though. The lord would never allow her to perish from him, not so soon… he wouldn't let her go with only a second half century into her service to him. He would throw her right back into the mission if she fell; uncaring, cold, and not in the least bit persuaded to let a fresh warrior go to waste. After all repairing her was easy, he could do that, he was her lord and after all, what was death to a literal god?

She rolled to her side on the cement slab that had been her bed and curled into a ball. She'd let her mind wander again, and could feel the heat of the tears dotting her eyes, the itch of another emotional wave coming, the suspicion enforced by her body's reaction. A tightening appeared in the bottom of her throat and the pain that was about to make it very uncomfortable to breathe in her chest was coming around again. She forced herself to begin to count once more, she'd been somewhere in the three thousands when she'd left off this time.

The alarm continued on, and she stopped counting a few hundred seconds later as a new sound accompanied its persistent wail. Yells, and shrieks followed by the sound of clashing objects. Subconsciously, her body tensed and her head tilted, and then there it was. The smell of gunpowder and the sound of screams clouded her senses.

It seemed the time to leave was no longer up to her. She sat up and began to put on her clothes. She jumped as a sizable dent appeared in the metal of the door towards her. It groaned in protest, before a high-pitched whining whirl, sounded on the other side.

She barely had time to throw herself against the wall as the door was blasted off its hinges, a blue light tailing it and leaving parts of the metal melted and glowing red. The impact caused the brick wall that'd surrounded her to crumble; dust and rubble shot out towards her and clouded her vision.

Covering her mouth to not breathe it in, she squinted towards the doorway. Soon the cloud lessened, and fell to the floor.

A mechanical whirl hummed from beyond the door, before a red and yellow humanoid like figure stuck its upper half in. Its' head turned, towards the wall before it sharply looked her way. The white of the eyes reviewed no pupils as they looked in her direction. Back flat against the wall, stance wide to keep herself up, she looked down towards the metal door, and then up towards it. Neither of them moved, and the alarm cut out abruptly. The red light finally ceased, broken with the impact.

"Hi." The male voice sounded a bit confused, she wondered for a moment if the world had robots that were sentient. She assumed it was male, but the voice was distorted by the mechanical whirl and tones of the casing it was in. It stood up straight, and much to her disappointment though, blocked the entryway. It jabbed a mechanical thumb over its shoulder however, "You with these guys?"

She leaned forward to see what it was gesturing to, and felt confused at the men lying on the floor, groaning and writhing on the floor in pain. The odd symbol of a red skull with what looked like octopi tentacles on a black background, identical to those that threw her in here to begin with. She grimaced and shook her head.

"Ah, didn't think so." The robot put two fingers to what looked like where ears would've been, "Found a prisoner."

There was silence, and his form stilled as he faced her. He then spoke again, "no, I found her in a HYDRA Cell. Where else would I find a Prisoner, Rodgers?" She watched carefully, her mind buzzing with the plan of action. The door to the cell was open, but could she clear get past it and clear of the area? She felt slow, out of sorts, and confused, but he was a welcome distraction from her previous thoughts. She looked past him again, stepping carefully around the rubble with her bare feet. His voice caused her to pause, breaking her thoughts.

"I don't know if I would say it's another 'enhanced'. More like some poor attempt at a gothic poser. Possible side affects from the experiments these sick bastards have been trying, though."

She almost scowled, her spouse had adored her black toenails and fingernails, it reminded them of demons or beasts, dangerous creatures not to be reckoned with and once the lord's will had manifested in her body, his power within her, she would never be rid of it, so-

The agony was back and she stumbled, her knees slamming hard not the ground with a grunt of pain as rocks and rubble broke into it. Her head bowed for a moment and she looked up through the curtain of her dirty hair towards the bodies. She heard the startled grunt that disrupted the robot's latest words, something about more hostiles, before she forced herself to her feet, red stained the khakis and she nearly cursed at her battered knees. More scars to add to the list of bodily reminders of the past. She licked her lips and looked back up once she found herself steady before the robot pointed at her.

"You. Stay here, don't die and I'll be right back."

And just like that, he was gone.

Erika Burns frowned; eyes narrowed with suspicion as she quickly approached the doorway, looking down both ends of the hallway. Sure enough, he wasn't about anymore. The hallway clear except for limp soldiers, and a light from a hole in the wall down the hallway, leading to the outside. She leaned forward and swiped up one of the loose guns, a beretta M9 by the looks of it, popping open the slide to reload it after she double-checked the clip. The man below her reached for her, and her heel slammed into his face once she noticed in surprise. There was a sickening crunch, and she paused, dark eyes scoring down his chest as he stiffened and then went limp.

It ceased rising and falling after a few moments, and his mouth stayed open as blood dripped from his broken nose. His eyes forever stuck wide now. She clung to the gun tighter as she removed his boots, shoving her dirty, grime covered feet into them, the flat matte of her black toenails causing her to frown with a peculiar thought...

What would he have thought if he saw the lord? She shook her head and grabbed for the man's gun hostler instead once, stripping him of it and the small grenades that came with it. Another man who was bordering on consciousness rolled his head towards her. His eyes focused after a moment, and he opened his mouth, the sound hit the air and she met his gaze and found the gun rose at him before she could realize what she was doing, trigger squeezed.

Erika's eyes widened a fraction as his head whipped back from the force of the bullet, the gun smoking just a little before she looked down towards the barrel, and back towards the head. With a glance towards both ends of the hall, she blinked and continued lacing up the boots, gun carefully set to her side for the moment. She looked down at both boots from her seated form after she tucked in the edge of the pants, and felt a bit of familiarity wash over her; like an old friend embracing her after not seeing her for years. She got up and her stomach groaned in protest from the lack of food, as her body sluggishly began down the hall. Her mind had fallen quiet with the distractions though, as death hovered over the two men, and the others laid unconscious.

The soft sound of shuffling papers caused her head turn towards it almost immediately, gun up. There was no one there though, and just a small manila folder with a few papers that stuck out lying slyly in the shadow of the doorway that had been the entrance to her cell. She down the hall again, just to be sure, before she took it; opened it, and read it. She stood facing the wall, the mild feeling of irritation as it took her too long to read the information, to study the photos, and then to drop it down into the corner before stepping away.

It was gone from her sight once she blinked. Rather than stare blankly at the place it had laid, she turned and quickly made her way from it. In the rush, her foot caught one of the straps and she tripped again with a loud "SHIT."

She landed on one of the soldier bodies, he groaned in protest but otherwise did not move. While she was down there, she palmed his vest for ammunition, and found two extra clips. Keeping an inventory, she got back up and trudged on. She mused quietly about the 'light' at the end of the tunnel before shaking her head and heading deeper into the dark,

She needed to slip out unnoticed, and perhaps through the dark was the best way for her to go about it.

It turned out it wasn't. She should've taken the chance with the light at the end of the hallway. The moment she had touched her boot to snow covered ground, Erika had found herself dodging chaos. The robotic man from before had burst from the apparently large compound she'd been incarcerated in, and was shooting blue beams from his hand that she could only assume were what took out the doorway. She spotted wounded men with arrows in them, and immediately tensed at the idea of one finding its way into her. Arrow wounds were a least favorite.

It was when she saw this massive, hulking, green monster-like man destroy a small firing station, and the men from it splayed out in the process, groaning in pain; she decided this was a new development altogether to her mission, and she needed to clear the hell out of dodge. Now. She'd made it about 40 yards from the compound when an arrow landed at her foot. She tucked and rolled immediately into a ditch and took aim with the berretta M9.

Old instincts were waking up, and she didn't like it; with them the voices had come back.

* * *

 _"You put them in the ICU! No unnecessary death, Eri, I mean it. This world doesn't need anymore killers."_

* * *

Her vision blurred with tears, obscuring her vision. She could just see him around the tree, bow poised, and arrow ready; this was not the time to be having another psychological fit.

* * *

 _"_ _I know... but they were going to do something awful and I had to protect you."_

 _Arms wrapped around her from behind, strong but gentle, kind. A chin rested on her shoulder. "You won't always be there."_

 _"_ _Liars go to hell, you know."_

 _"_ _I mean it Erika. I understand it's what you do, but this family needs you to tone it back... the world can survive without you in battle mode all the time, warrior woman. The Burns family isn't going anywhere from some imminent threat." Soft lips pulled into a confident smirk. Erika turned quickly around to look at them. Her spouse's bright blue eyes piercing into her and seeing it. There wasn't a 'we', she didn't care at all about the 'we'. She was terrified for them. It was something they never understood, and she desperately needed them too._

 _"_ _I will always be the-"_

* * *

An arrow bit into her shoulder, and a loud curse exited her as she fell back on the ground and bit into her clenched fist, tears now streams down her face. The remnants of the broken vow now echoed in the back of her mind. She tried to yank her thoughts away with her rage at being struck and at her mistake. This was not how a mission was supposed to start. This was not how she had wanted it to be. Nothing was going right, everything was wrong. For ten years it had been right, ten years and now it wasn't; it was all shit now. She was supposed to go in unnoticed, and that was all out the window now.

A new, wet dark red blossomed into the khaki cloth that covered her. She tried to calm her breathing s she reached up and attempted in a swift motion to snap the shaft of the arrow off. As this did nothing but agitate the arrow more, she gave another snarl before she fell back and forced her body low, back pressed into the ground as she tried to level with it.

Turning the tip of the gun to the arrow shaft, she pulled the trigger. The blasted end smoked lightly before she began to tear with her nails and teeth at the sleeve of the thin material. Concentrated breaths forced her to shut out the noise of the chaos that continued around her, the voices quieted as she shut her eyes and listened to the sound of her own breath after tying off the wound.

She needed to concentrate on getting out of here, and regrouping. The cover was ruined; now she needed to get it back. It was going to be a hard task, but she couldn't track and appropriately locate the target if there was one painted on her back. She didn't dare reach back into the past for the old ways she had come to call instinct and routine a decade ago. The threat of the voices returning and another distraction causing more damage focused her towards the goal.

There was growling, her eyes turned upward and spotted as the green monstrous creature passing her by. She laid perfectly still until he was out of sight, not even daring to let loose a sigh of relief once he was out of sight. The noise of the fighting sounded a little further away, the zipping whirling of the robotic man' accompanied shouts, gunfire, and the roaring engine of quite a few motorized vehicles by the sound of it. The sound of more roaring from the green beast and orders being called out also did not escape her, as it sounded off from behind. She rolled to her stomach and got her feet under her, crouching just to peek over the tall grass that surrounded the ditch she'd laid in long enough now.

To her north, she could see the vehicles and the green beast crashing further into buildings . There was a man on a motorcycle with a red, white, and blue circular shield that would throw the shield in a Frisbee like motion as it bounced from one enemy soldier to the next. The mechanized humanoid was flying above him, tailing his movements and attacking more armed soldiers with the odd skull octopus patterned badge. She could only assume that it was the 'HYDRA' the robotic individual spoke of.

Thunder boomed overhead and drew her attention as a flash of lightning hit a soldier that had risen behind a vehicle with a woman in a black cats suit with crimson hair. She caught a flash of red from above and stared in awe as a man of all things, flew through the sky. Lightning crackled around him but did not dare touch him, his arm out as it brandished a large metal hammer that seemed to pull him along through the sky.

Erika's mind was doing black flips as it tried to put things together. She'd encountered those of a superhuman like ability before, however this was nothing like she'd encountered before on missions. They were organized, in the chaos, they attacked in formation; their enemies, the same men who locked her away unable to stop them as they put up a worthy offense. Cut down by the indomitable strength of their opponents.

It became clear as she tucked back to the ground; she needed to get out of here and as quickly as possible. Arrows soared above the ditch and landed in targets with a resounding 'thunk' and screams of pain from beyond the ditch. It reminded her of her problem: The archer. She still had the berretta, and the grenades. Perhaps she could throw them out in both directions and cause a distraction? Or a cover? Either way it had to be quick and her time was up. She had nothing truly to lose and the idea of being in more pain was highly unappealing.

There was the easy option, and that was to kill him. He was quick but she just needed him to come out from behind the tree for a quicker bullet to end him. She hunched down and peeked the barrel up. An arrow landed just to her right, and she tightened her grip and aimed. She really didn't want to do this.

* * *

 _"No unnecessary death, Eri, I mean it. This world doesn't need anymore killers."_

* * *

Tears again, she gritted her teeth against them and hunkered further back. She shook her head and buried it in her hands. One breath, than two. The echo retreated…

Very well, she glowered over her hands, she'd find a different way. But if he shot at her, she shuddered. With her reflexes kicking back in, she didn't know if she could stop, and given the pain in her arm, she knew she didn't want to either.

As the chaos drew nearer she acted, wondering briefly if a decade ago if this would have ever happened to her. Her mind shoved her personal distractions on the back burner for the moment as she pulled the grenades from the holster belt across her chest. She yanked both pins. One she threw to the north, towards the group, the other she threw towards the archer as she vacated her cover, gun out and ready. She peppered his tree as she saw him step out to take aim, forcing him to remain behind it for cover and delay.

Her feet pounded as the ground shook from the explosions of the flash grenades, light erupting in the area behind her, and her feet light on the ground as she bolted for the tree line that surrounded them all. The painful throbbing in her arm accompanied the beating of her heart as it pounded in her head. She cleared the tree line, an arrow hitting the tree just behind her. The green canopy engulfing the light from the sun above as she ran in a serpentine between trees, ears pricked and catching the sounds of the chaos which had become renewed with the interruption.

She focused on covering more ground and putting as much distance as possible between her and it.


	3. Necromancy

Disclaimer: I own a lot of things in this story, but the avengers universe ain't one of them.  
Erika (Air-Ee-Kuh) Eri (Air-ee)  
A/N: Thank you for those who have reviewed. I hope you enjoy this next installment.

The archer didn't move as he watched the back of the woman shoot underneath the underbrush of the forest, disappearing into the trees. Blue eyes moved back towards the chaos before he grimaced. He needed to lend support towards his team mates, but they were going to let one of the HYDRA operatives get away in the process. He was almost from behind the tree when the explosions went off. A snarl exited him as it blotted out his vision. He blinked rapidly and attempted to clear his vision as quickly possible.

Things were blurry before he could focus, knot the bow, and strike down the HYDRA operative about to fire him down, he reached for his comm, "We've got a runner, female, about 5' 7", scarred, khaki, wounded, but armed."

"I'm on it!" Another male stated urgently, "Where did they go?"

Clint scowled towards the woods, shooting off two more arrows before he replied. "Headed for the woods, Cap." He moved to relocate towards the main group before a final male voice came over the comm for the time being.

"They wouldn't happen to have blonde hair and look pretty rough, would they?" Silence, "Because that would be my HYDRA prisoner I pulled out of the cells, Barton."

Clint glowered as he entered the fray with a curse. An enemy soldier got too close to shoot down, his eyes widened before he leaned back fro the knife, the barrel of the weapon they brandished leveled with his face. A blue flash occurred, and he looked up as the Iron Man suit landed in front of him. The gold and red chrome peppered with dents from bullet fire. Tony Stark lowered his hand. An red and white ringed disk with a white star and a blue backdrop flew in between the two of them and slammed into the gut of another soldier, before it bounced back and whizzed to the arm of Steven Rogers, AKA: Captain America. Steve's lips pulled into a frown as he looked at the two and then glowered. Tony stared from behind his suit before he pointed at Clint.

"Clint shot a prisoner."

The Captain turned around just in time to clothesline an oncoming attacking soldier. "Tell the reinforcements to keep an eye out for her, in the meantime, we'll take care of this." The Iron Man blasted an oncoming wave, as Clint gave a nod at the order, relaying the command to everyone else as they dove back into the chaos.

* * *

Erika was feeling woozy as she clutched at her shoulder. The sound of the forest surrounded her and the battle was muted by the many trees that separated her and it now. Her feet felt heavy before she looked up and about. She was surprised she'd not been pursued by the men that had locked her up to begin with. It hadn't been two seconds when she'd arrived that she'd been tackled, questioned, and thrown into a cell. She glowered for a moment down at her shoulder, her body was weak and tired without food, she could barely heal at this level of function.

With the quiet, memories began to flow back which she tried to dump into the back of her mind for the moment; she trekked on and attempted to ignore the throbbing pain in her shoulder. She wondered briefly if she could pull it out from the flesh if she dug deep enough. There would be more blood, and she wouldn't be able to move at all soon enough, but maybe for a moment it might be worth it… She wet her chapped lips as she looked ahead and carefully stepped over an emerging root. It was as thought hit a wall once she surpassed a few more yards, her head fell with a 'thump' against a tree and her knees buckled. She inhaled loudly but her lungs burned. She winced and sat down at the ground, cradled against the tree.

If she didn't keep going, she would not clear the battle field for recuperation. She eyed the gun in her hand, perhaps if she shot herself further, she would bleed out faster. Thus she would die, and have to be face to face with the god who put her here to begin with. He would chastise her, and throw her back into the fray. She felt a frown on her lips, she had no desire to see him; but death would bring her to his doorstep regardless.

Her eyes felt heavy and she shut them for a moment, if only to rest them. Gun tight in her hand and in her lap. The darkness behind her eyelids a comfort. She opened them and stilled.

No longer did she sit in the cool forest. The world around her shapeless and undefined. Her breath traveled deeper as she inhaled and the pain her shoulder was gone. She grimaced after a moment though of looking about. A heavy presence pressed in on her.

 **"This is unacceptable, warrior."** It hissed, she could not see it, but glowered as it grew tighter against her back. Black hands with long black nails covered her eyes, **"You have a mission to fulfill."** She snarled and thrashed against the grip, the lord's fingers curled and dug into her eyes. She inhaled as there was a brief moment of pain, before his hands ripped away and he pushed her further into the dark.

Erika stumbled out of the shadow of a tree and looked down to where a small pool of blood had formed beneath the branches and between the roots where she had laid. The gun from earlier, it's belt, and attachments the only thing left behind in the presence of her body. She quickly concluded she'd lost too much blood to make a turn around, and the lord had saw to it she return in a state of full health. She growled lowly with a glare down her own form. The khaki prison garb was now only a shirt as jeans stretched over her legs and black boots laced up her shins. She reached down to pick up the beretta when a soft clicking entered her ears.

Dark eyes traveled up as one of the soldiers of before exited the brush, gun raised. His eyes were wide under his helmet as he snarled, "What are you?!" Erika frowned and slowly raised up. "Don't move!" She stilled. He cocked his gun again, "What are you?" He repeated loudly.

"Shhhh." She tried, hand gesturing to lower his voice, "They'll hear us."

"You were dead! I saw you dead! You had no pulse! Your body was eaten by the tree! What are you!?" Panic laced with his tones. She refrained from looking down at the gun to put her foot underneath the belt of the holstered gun to kick it up and took a step towards him. He shot the ground at her feet and then pointed it back up towards her face, she stilled and looked up.

She wouldn't favor getting shot again. To do so would cause her to go back. If she went back she would have to continue to remember. The man looked young, she guessed he couldn't be older than this early 20's. Did he have a family? His mother had to be worried sick. She wouldn't have let her chil- She winced and shut her eyes against the thought, opening them only to find he had stepped closer.

"Against the tree!" The gun was leveled to her head, she took a step back. Her back firmly against the tree and a low exhale flowed out loudly. As he got closer, she noticed he was shaking, his pupils were dilated, and sweat beats ran down his cheeks. "T-Tell me what you ar-!" He suddenly stopped speaking all together. His eyes went wide and his eyes rolled backwards into his head. His mouth stayed open as he fell forward towards her. An arrow stuck of the back of his head, just at the base of his neck. She caught him quickly, and felt his mouth open close against her shoulder.

Erika lowered him to the ground, turning his head best she could before she scanned the trees that surrounded them. She collected the holstered gun and wet her lips as she pulled it over her chest. No arrows yet, that was good. She waited to bolt, eyes narrowed before she took a step to go around the tree. Steady breaths as she wondered if she would be shot down too. One step, two… three… she got to the other side, and run.

She expected to hear the thud of an arrow and yells, but there was nothing. Her breath came in huffs as she made it through a clearing, before her booted foot caught an uprising root. She let out a snarl as she went head over heels and rolled. Dirt and rock cut into her skin and she growled lowly against the pain. She moved to get up when the earth in front of her rumbled at the sound of an impact. She slowly looked up, the boots of a figure not inches away from her, the tips of a red cape just swaying in and out of her view.

Erika immediately scrambled back as a man with long blonde hair stood over her. A large mallet like hammer in his hand and a helmet with wings on his head. He pointed it towards her with a frown.

"…What manner of creature are you?"

She winced a glare at him.

At this rate, she would never get her cover back.


	4. Alien

Disclaimer: I own a lot of things in this story, but the avengers universe ain't one of them.  
A/N: THANK YOU FOR THE SUPPORT SO FAR GUYS! YOU ALL ROCK!

READ! ENJOY!

* * *

The God of Thunder, Thor did not know what to make of the woman in front of him. He only truthfully knew what he'd seen, and it'd been nothing any Midgardian of the past had accomplished to his knowledge. They'd finished their fray at the HYDRA compound, and had hence been searching the woods for any last stragglers that'd escaped the battle. He and his comrades had found a small blood trail after much searching. In turn, he'd come across a figure that laid against a tree, unmoving and at rest. Their body frail with the red of blood coating their arm and matted blonde hair covered their face.

He'd seen they were armed, before the shadow of the tree that loomed above them became darker. He'd been rendered speechless as the body fell back into it, the gun and holster seeming to phase through it, and the midgardian creature all together vanished. He'd turned to his archer companion, Hawkeye at the time who'd looked just as surprised. He took that is it was not a common occurrence.

They'd laid low when they found a form moving in the back, and had been about to pouch when the shadow cast by the branches of the tree grew dark once again, causing them to pause. A woman, similar to the one that had just fallen away, stumbled out. Scars stretched or shrunk with her facial expressions as they marred various parts of her face, neck, and shoulders. The shirt from before had remained, but she donned new breaches and foot wear. Her hair was clean and smooth, and sharp eyes gauged the area, shrewd and alert. A grimace was on her face and she'd noted the weaponry on the ground and had moved to collect it.

They'd watched the exchange between the woman and the HYDRA soldier that too had witnessed the event. Her voice was soft and low. It was apparent she did not want to be found anymore than the enemy did. As the moments ticked on and the tension grew, it became more likely that the soldier would not let her go unharmed.

Thor thus was not surprised when the enemy was shot down, and the creature caught them. With some compassion, she lowered the wounded man to the ground, and wasted little to no time attempting to flee. Clint's voice grumbled quietly to the others, but other than that, Thor pounced after her, raising into the air as she fumbled and fell over a root. He landed in front of her. His hammer pointed at her as he regarded her, and he asked, "What manner of creature are you?"

When he got no response and a glower, he remained puzzled. The Hawkeye's arrow was knotted and pulled back, aimed as he stepped around and by Thor. She stiffened and curled, eyes narrowed. Clint watched as her muscles coiled like a wound up spring ready to break free as she moved to the balls of her feet.

"Move, and I'll put another arrow in y-" Clint paused and stared at her shoulder. She was supposed be wounded, but there was a significant lack of blood. He glanced at Thor, who shared his confused look. He reached for his Comm, "Hawkeye to base, we have an enhanced we'll be bringing in… some sort of shadow jumper…" Even that didn't seem to properly cover the term. The revving of a motorcycle rang in the background; the Captain had arrived. If he was here, the Black Widow would not be far behind. As the whirl of quiet engines entered his ears, he could only assume the Iron Man had finished up his job.

Tony Stark took a step beside him. "I thought I told you to wait back there." He looked her up and down, "On the other hand, you look ten times better. Mind telling us what happened?"

Erika's mind was racing as she attempted to decide what to do next. She was surrounded, the tree the only thing at her back. Her frustration grew, she could not shake them, and it seemed this world was against her silent simulation from the moment she entered. It was partially the fault the Lord, and the other fault however…

It used to be so easy to keep a cool head in these situations. To let the ideas come to her to get out of this… She could feel the wheels turn, but also found that something was caught to make them stutter and pause.

Her fingers wiggled at her side as she attempted to ground herself and focus. There was always a way out, always. She tried to analyze what she'd seen. The Archer and the Iron Man had long range covered. The man with the cape could fly, and had aerial. The woman and the man on the motorcycle had speed and short range and-

Where was the green giant? She needed to go dark and she couldn't. She looked towards the robot, "I didn't stay there." The obvious answer wasn't what he was looking for. He looked over at the Captain, who nodded. Switching his suit to stun, Tony raised his hand and shot at her. She fell quickly and unconscious to the ground...

"…I know I shot her." Clint growled as he stared at the monitors, hours later to see the strange woman coming around in the holding cell. They had relocated to the Avengers jet. Their newest compatriot separated from the HYDRA soldiers who were on different transport all together.

Tony Stark, now having abandoned his suit, scratched at his beard as he eyed the monitor as well. Behind him, a man with black hair swept back, and soft brown eyes was rubbing his face. He wore a gray suit and a button up white shirt that was unbuttoned a few at the top. His name was Bruce Banner, and he was also the green monster that had been smashing buildings and soldiers earlier.

Now he stared at x-rays they had taken upon their arrival. The sound of opera rang through the headphones that covered his ears and he didn't like any of what he was seeing. The woman was scarred on the face from what he could only assume were old knife wounds. The skin puckered lightly in areas of the cheek and on the jaw. There was a clear dark pink wound across the left jugular of her neck and a jagged scar peeked to further damage under the khaki shirt.

The x-rays showed mended fractures which didn't make sense. The bones had lines that spoke of damage, but that was the only clear sign they had been affected. Otherwise they looked as though they'd never been touched. For the time being, his eyes traveled over to the monitor, the blonde hair on her head blocked her face, her hands were bound to the chair. Scarred arms flexed and attempted to pull against the cuffs before her head rose.

He removed the headphones and looked towards Tony Stark. "And you say she just… came out of a shadow?"

Clint spoke up from the cockpit, "After a damn-near corpse fell into it. I shot that woman; they don't just pop out of the dark fully healed."

"She is not of this world." Thor stated confidently, Bruce looked to him after he removed the headphones. The Asgardian's arms were crossed as he eyed the monitor. The god of Thunder frowned and turned towards the scientist, "The magic that surrounded her entering-"

"Energy." Stark corrected quickly.

Thor gave him a reproachful glower, "It is not of Midgard."

"So we rule out enhanced." Banner grunted, "Alien?" He looked at the Asgardian. Thor nodded.

"It is not of this world but, it is magic. The only things it rings true too however comes in stories told to our children on Asgard." He shook his head.

"Well, story book or not, goldilocks is up." The red haired woman in a black catsuit stated from behind them towards the back of the flight deck. The Black Woman, Natasha Romanoff stared at the monitor in front of her. The transparent tablet changed screens as her fingers danced over its surface. The woman's vitals came up, she threw them over onto the big monitor. "Looks human."

"Well whatever she is." Steve Rodgers rested his hands on his belt, his helmet removed for the time being. He glanced at Natasha, "Someone is going to have to go in with her."

Erika's ears rung against the silence in the room. The bite of metal against her wrists had long since become warm from her body heat. She didn't want to lift her head to observe the box she was in any further. It reminded her too much of the cell she'd escaped hours ago. So she just focused on breathing.

She shut her eyes and she saw them-

* * *

 _long smooth black hair, green dress and playful golden eyes. She was lovely…_

* * *

She gritted her teeth against the memory and attempted to shove it off.

* * *

 _The children held each of her hands as green flats with golden trim skipped against the ground. Their laughter rang through the air. A strong smoky hum accompanying them. Erika felt content as they skipped ahead. Her daughters hairs bouncing, golden and curly or black as the night. Her spouse's voice echoed through the air, "Eri, catch up now darling, we mustn't be la-"_

 _Erika caught her face, pale as snow, lovely, hazel eyes glinted gleefully in the sunlight-_

 _Her foot touched a single shadow, and gasped as the world went dark. Familiar, undefined, she stood on nothing quite stable. Her hand reached out towards where they'd been. Where the world was. Her eyes widened as realization washed over her and her mouth opened to scream out._

* * *

Erika's eyes opened against the memory and she tried to slip back into the world that was the box. She flipped her hair back and felt the heat on her cheeks. Hands clenched into fists, her nails bit into her palms. She tried to find another distraction. There had been so many lately; the battle, the super humans, the archer, so many thankful, blessed distractions.

Where was another? She needed another… The door slid open with a hiss, red puffy eyes locked up onto the woman red head that entered the room. The one that had been on a vehicle, shooting down the enemy. She took the seat across from her before she straddled the chair and leaned against it.

"Hello." Erika almost slouched in relief. A wonderful distraction. "My friends say you aren't human." Erika tilted her head for a moment, mission focused. So far she only had her mission after all, and this woman, her head tilted the other way, this woman came into the room and spoke of confidence and a high profile nature. She needed a contact, she needed resources. Could this woman get them for her? Erika lowered her gaze for a second. "Luckily you're not our first… Imagine how awkward that would be." She looked back up, "So as you're not much of a talker, can I guess why you're crying?"

"…If it humors you." Erika's hands loosened from their white knuckled bite. She felt the warmth of blood on her palms and smeared it with her thumb, "Guess away."

"Ex boyfriend." Her new companion exclaimed, "You're crying because you two got in a fight, and you decided to leave. So you came here and realized it wasn't what you wanted.." She gave a sigh and raised brows to her with almost an impressed air, "I'm surprised you chose planets, usually people just leave town.

Burns felt perplexed if only for a moment and then leaned back. Such an incorrect statement, but nonetheless it brought a very small smile to her lips. "Is that so?" She looked about and then at the woman again, "I would say it hasn't worked out for me, miss."

"Romanoff." The woman supplied, head tilted, "And no, I wouldn't say it has. So. Aren't you? Human?"

Erika wondered if this woman once again, could be her contact. So she let out a very low breath and pursed her black lips. She refrained from giving the instinctual shake of her head as she wet them and leaned back in the chair. The tension alleviated from her arms. If the contact went south, what would she do? Kill her?

Her lover's plea for no more necessary deaths rose up in a whisper and she inhaled deeply. Her shoulders tensed and she shut her eyes against the itchy feeling of tears again. She then clenched them tighter and grit her teeth under closed lips before she exhaled slowly. Grounded, she opened them and looked back towards her. Her dark eyes gained a small green hue the longer she stared.

If it came to that, perhaps that would be how it ended. The stare she gave Romanoff almost predatory as she slowly shook her head, "I'm afraid not Miss Romanoff, I've not been for a long time."

Natasha Romanoff leaned back, hands gripping the chair as she got up and leaned forward on the table. Erika looked her up and down in her stance before she settled on her face, chin lifted and body instinctually back. Natasha's voice lowered softly, "Then what are you?"

Erika bared some of her teeth as she gave her a lopsided grin, the spite towards her situation, towards her Lord so high she could practically feel running her mind. "Well, I have been called 'warrior' as of late, but at the simplest of titles, I prefer a private investigator of sorts."

Natasha frowned, and leaned back. "And what in our world are you investigating?" Her hair rose up on the back of her neck and she fought back the urge to pull out her sidearm. The blonde had leaned forward and stared up at her through long eyelashes. At one time, Romanoff thought she could've been very pretty, but now the scars separated the areas of smooth skin. Those eyes had now reached a dark green that reminded her of lush forests. The smooth hair she had fell over her shoulder and covered some of the scars that on closer detail, peppered her neck and collar. Her lips were in a frown though, stretching a vertical scar that rested on the left corner of it.

"Well Miss Romanoff, if you must know…" Erika fought back the urge to bite back the words that she could feel rested on her tongue, Her voice lowered as a soft growl reverberated in the back of her throat, "I'm trying to track down the person that at the moment, is going to be responsible for ending it." She looked about the room, and then back towards the Super Spy's face, "But I do believe, the investigation's off to a rather rough start."


	5. Celestial Entities

**A/N:** So after a very stressful day at work, and an awesome passing of a really epic class, here's a new chapter! Welcome aboard those who have favorite or followed this story thus far! I hope to get some fleshing out done in this chapter, and any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

 **Disclaimer:** I own a lot of things in this story, but the avengers universe ain't one of them.

* * *

Romanoff was a wonderful distraction. She made very little facial expressions or reaction, and Erika couldn't read her. It was almost fascinating to see if she could crack. There was little to be said though as each question pulled her focus in tighter, like a cat stalking prey. Rusty and out of practice, she tried to deduce who was in front of her. Natasha's voice was light and coated with tones that made her think about the English speaking country. Was it like _her_ America? Or was it a different country all together? If Erika could run her fingers through her hair due to the piling thoughts, she would've, but the cuffs still prevented movement. The focus at least pulled her away from the gloom of previous events that scratched at her mind to take over.

It did make her fully consider the ticking of the clock that continued in the back of her head though. On one hand, she was thankful this was a new situation, it meant she could relearn the long since dormant processes she'd shoved down under lock and key, on another, she was frustrated, as it was like waking a bear from hibernation after a long winter.

Slow… and with a lot of excrement stocked up in it.

"Something on your mind?" She leveled a gaze at Romanoff, a small frown on her lips. Natasha leaned forward, fingers clasped and eyes narrowed. Erika's head tilted as she wet her lips before she shrugged and gave a nod.

"Many things." She didn't feel like sharing too much. She just kept her mouth shut in turn and eyed the red head that waited for a reply patiently. She sat back and blinked before wiggling her fingers, "…I don't suppose I can get these cuffs off, can I?"

"Not a chance." Natasha smirked, Erika wryly mimicked it and then her expression fell. If she were to solve anything in this world, or do anything with this case she'd been given, she couldn't do it in a box. So… she needed to find a way out.

"So who are you then?" She inquired calmly as old, rusted, cogs continued to turn achingly with old processes. "Other than Miss Natasha Romanoff?" She tried to relax her hands, "Who were the men your group was in combat with?" A slow roll of her shoulders tried to take the tension building in her upper back and neck.

"Why did they lock you up?" Natasha fired back. Erika frowned, her brows furrowed in irritation, as she was given nothing. "And how is it you came out of a shadow?"

Erika bit back the string of replies that tempted to rush out from her, summing it up mentally with a, _you're not being helpful at all_. Perhaps Natasha wasn't the helpful type either… She felt an old familiarity wash over her once again, reminding her of why she preferred to extract information a different way when small talk had ceased being useful and irritation had mounted. One that was a tad darker, and involved their positions quite reversed when it came to the chair she was currently cuffed too. She felt sadistic glee, which was quickly combatted with horror and disgust at her own thoughts of what would become of this woman if she went under a knife. Of the way her love would've looked at her if she walked in to a bloody mass, gasping for life in a chair. The way her children would've screamed in terror and- Her head dropped as she stared at the floor between her legs and under her feet. She worried her lip between her teeth and took a slow, deep breath to compose herself. Her eyes shut and her lips pursed as she clicked her tongue as she lifted her head, "Both are rather related and in turn, have an equally long story." She opened an eye and left it at that.

Natasha opened her mouth before the door behind her allowed the new individual entry. Erika felt her hands instinctively yank against the cuffs as the man who shot her walked in. The archer stilled as they made eye contact and she clenched her hands back into fists, leaning forward against them. The Black Widow looked up as he frowned towards Erika, "I've got this." She got up and stood closer to him.

They spoke quietly in words that were just out of her hearing. Her head tilted and she quirked a brow towards him with the scowl permanently on her face as the red headed woman actually gave in with a nod and look that said she understood something; before she left. The door slid shut behind her. The man sat down in the seat across from her and she eyeballed him carefully. He was tensed, but he wasn't visibly armed anymore. He interlaced his hands on top of the table and leaned back in his chair.

It was actually her who decided to break the silence, " _You_ Shot Me."

Clinton Francis Barton frowned at the woman as she leveled him with a death glare, and considered for a moment how much he wanted to go over his arrow implanting in her arm. His visual assessment already told him she was stressed and the glower on her face didn't hide from him one bit she wasn't happy he was in the room with her. He shot her, and from enough wounds in the past, he knew it wouldn't have been pleasant. So he wet his lips as he got his feet. "Yes, I did." He admitted. He glanced at her arm and made his way around the table. He noted as her muscles tensed as he reached her side. First he looked towards the cuffs and winced, eyes narrowed, "…Can you even feel that?" There were five little crescent cuts in each hand that had now dripped red from her nails biting into the skin. He leaned down behind her and heard a hiss as he opened her hands; the tips of her fingers crusted with the blood and a little bit of the red liquid had flowed down her palm to in between her knuckles. He followed her fingertips up to her wrists, which were becoming bruised as they pressed into the metal of the automated handcuffs. He glanced up, blue eyes catching the harsh glare that stared back before she turned her head and slumped, putting more weight against the metal and pulling at the cuffs. He glowered at the self-harming movement and reached up. With a grab over her shoulder and collar, he yanked her to sit up. "Stop that, you'll hurt yourself more."

"It doesn't really matter, does it not appear that I've experienced worse?" Erika's voice was clipped as she contained her contempt for this man. It was a strong instinct as her mind, now focused on the here and now, tried to angrily recall how the arrow felt as it implanted in her shoulder, and how it stunted her ability temporarily to get away from anything. How it felt to get cold and die. A small bit of chagrin also welled in her chest, as it had all been because she couldn't pull herself out of it at the time; she couldn't focus. The sensations enacted the flight or fight response in her head that made her right leg bounce as the new energy coursed through her. Instinct demanded she attempt to flee from this man she had had such an unpleasant experience with.

Clint didn't care, and he really wasn't bothered on the question of if she had experienced worse or not. He wanted some answers, so he came back here to get them. He reached up towards her sleeve, and pulled up on it to where he knew the arrow had struck her. What he found was fresh pink skin that ran jagged, and was surrounded by older, pale scars that had begun to fade and blend in, or stuck out as they peppered her arms, everything from burns to bullet holes it appeared. He reached forward and clamped his hand gently around the new scar. Confusion blanketed his features as he felt nothing hard, that would even resemble an arrow head. There was no trace of the hit other than an indent in the middle of the fresh pink skin. He yanked his hand back as she thrashed against the bonds, the displeasure clear on her face as she growled out lowly, "Do not touch me."

"My arrow tip should be in your arm." He surmised lowly, "And you shouldn't be sitting here with nearly as much energy." He rested a hand on the table and leaned forward as he grasped the back of chair. Hovered close to her face he concluded, "We know you aren't human, and we can only guess you're not from around here, so what are you?"

He gave her credit as she leaned forward into his face and hovered just an inch away, he tensed at the off chance she attempted to head but him. "Nothing of threat to you and yours." He refused to give up ground though and remained close. Her breath brushed against him, "and no one to be concerned with." She leaned away from him, "And highly irate that you shot me." She looked away, "I was already having a bad enough day and you had to go and do something like that!" She looked back with an almost pouted glare, "Such a silly thing to do."

Hawkeye glowered, as he hardly found defending his team and himself, silly. He let a little of his irritation show as she opened her mouth again, and he cut her off with a growl of, "And you shot at me! Don't think I didn't forget that!"

"Only _AFTER_ you Shot Me." Her voice rose now and a scowl had taken her face.

"I thought you were HYDRA." Clint stated off-handedly, not giving her the pleasure of seeing contempt. He watched her pause, displeasure perfectly laid on her face before she slowly leaned back to stare at him. He'd rose up to his full height as he gave a lidded gaze at her, hand clenched onto the table, and other hand by his side in a fist.

Erika's face morphed into one of confusion, before she slowly opened her mouth, and then shut it. A heavy silence fell between the two as she glanced at the table and he made his way back to his side, sitting back into his chair.

Her voice had quieted as she squirmed, "Ah yes… them… What is HYDRA, exactly?" Clint watched as the irritation left her face, only to be replaced with a look of confusion and curiosity. "The men that locked me up, what are they?"

He had to fight back the urge to cover his face and groan. Instead, he sat back and rested a hand on the table, before he pointed at her and changed the subject. "Do you want those cuffs off?" Erika glanced over her shoulder and down her back best she could to stare at her wrists. They were growing worse with each pull she gave. She felt miserable with these questions, and in all honesty, she would prefer to take a long nap. She could almost feel the memories pulling at her before she forced herself to knock them away. With a heavy sight, she looked back at him, a kink now in her neck from looking over her shoulder for too long, and nodded. He gave one back in return, "Thought so, answer three of my questions, and I'll take them off." He paused, eyes narrowed as though he were listening to something, before he reached up and pulled an earpiece out of his ear and turned off his speaker that laid on his hip. "Deal?"

She looked towards the devices, then back to his face before she gave a bob of her head, "Just to you then."

Clint didn't want to break her down anymore than he had to. But he couldn't coddle. He didn't need to worry about the team not knowing what occurred as the micro camera into the room had audio. So without the team in his ear, he would be able to think clearly and remain focused. "Just to me." He confirmed, a white lie. He rested his hands on the table, interlaced them as he eyed her movements carefully, and sighed, "Romanoff said that you were here to investigate a threat that would end of the world."

"More or less."

Clint carefully picked through his thoughts to choose his next words, "What happens after you find it?"

Erika bit the inside of her cheek as she had to contemplate what and how much to say. Such a question like that often ended in reality, with bloodshed. What would she do when she found the target? She couldn't dare say that which she would have to do to even find it, or that the target was growing as they sat in this little room.

 _Wasting time_ , She hissed inwardly. There was a part of her questioning why she was upset, didn't she decided she didn't give a damn? Instincts and old habits stirred though and demanded her attention. She knew it wasn't her though; it couldn't be her. She'd locked it up years ago and now it was back, as though an old friend was knocking at the door…

She longed to answer it. Harshness was so much easier to handle over sentiment.

Clint shifted to get comfortable under the sharp green gaze that scowled at him. Low breaths exited the woman and she seemed to be lost somewhere else. She saw him, but she wasn't present anymore. He couldn't place the emotion on her face before she blinked and came back to him.

"I'll eliminate it." Erika gauged him as she forced herself upright and against the back of the chair. She tried to take some tension off her wrists, "next question, Archer. You've got me focused now."

Clint doubted it. He could ask her several questions; but the way her eyes glazed over told him that even if he had a million inquires, she would just slip back after each one. During the fight, she'd seemed so focused right after she'd come out of the weeds. She'd had a plan and opened fire with precision on him; it hadn't been the thrashing he was used to, or the wildly firing such as that of a cornered and panicked soldier.

This woman didn't act like that same individual who had forced him back behind the tree for cover. It had been the focus of that woman that had made him want to put another arrow in her. She'd shown she was dangerous.

But this person wasn't, not this one in front of him. At least not like this. It made something in him tense up. He didn't like the way it confused him; so he inwardly glowered at her until she looked at him. She was far more dangerous for it. A slim brow quirked and he watched her come back, focus on him, and the thoughts she ran into slipped away. He exhaled an held breath, "Your target, how can you be sure it'll be what it is?"

Erika fought back the need to tense and thrash against the cuffs again, just to see if she might break them. Just to make a show of her agitation. If he knew how low he was cutting, he could orchestrate that emotion against her. She knew if if she caused more damage, it would just slow the process of recovery. Already she felt as her body attempted to heal itself up. She preferred rope so much more to these metal cuffs. When they used rope, she could slip out of them, having slickened them with blood and used them to wrap around the neck of her opponent. It'd been a long time since she'd been on the other side of the table. She had to admire how calm he was being at least in the situation after their heated discussion… an alien in front of him and he was asking her civil questions as though this was a brief before the mission; something she wasn't accustomed to. She was never that calm in his place, in fact she was usually excited, coaxing out fear in the process. But terror did such wonders for trickling answers out of people…

The cuffs were itching now as she tried to fight back against the want to put strain on them again, "Who." She breathed. "It's not a what, it is a who." At the straightening in his back, she shook her head, "And I track them down." She slipped back into the past for a moment, her lover's voice drowned out over the screams and pleas as she cut, sliced, and sawed out answers; Clues for the next stop on the trail. Rough snarls and low growls that would commingle with screams as she asked question after question. The disgust welled in her chest, along with want. It used to be so unorthodox, bloody, and messy; the old habits died the hardest though. The old ways, the dark arts... it used to be so easy when she didn't see them as people anymore, and just as threats.

She rubbed her smooth fingers together, no longer calloused with work and now capable of a light, gentle touch. Her eyes shut for a moment as she slid back into herself.

A giggle from the past broke through her thoughts of gore and screams, and she almost flinched as though she were slapped to the face. Her daughters looked up at her happily as she stroked their cheeks and hugged them to her. Warm, so full of life, happy… She felt like she'd been punched in the gut as mischievous young faces grinned up at her with life, adoration, and love in their eyes.

She forced her eyes open and looked at the man across from her, painfully shoving the memory back. Her eyes felt itchy and she blinked away the urge to let those develop into more tears.

Clint didn't like the idea of this woman hunting someone down to just eliminate them, but at the same time, he could empathize with the position. He'd been in it many times, after all. "So you're an agent of sorts." He grunted lowly. He looked up at her face and stilled, the area around her eyes were a darker hue and glassy. She was in the process of blinking rapidly, hopefully to hide it away. He gave her a puzzled look, he hadn't even dug into her and she was about to cry? He contemplated before, when he shot her down. Her reaction then and now, something was off. There hadn't been desperation, there'd been something cool that opened fire on him, but before that…

He could've sworn he heard a loud 'shit' and then a snarl as she'd fallen back into the brush after he hit her. That wasn't cool, calm, or collected, that wasn't a battlefield mindset. She'd been distracted. It was apparent to him more than ever that she definitely was now.

Clint put his mental notes away as she stared at him, neither confirming nor denying his conclusion. So if she was an agent, whom did she work for? More importantly, as an agent, if she wasn't human, were there others just like her? He was down to one question that still had her obligation to answer him. He could practically hear Tony Stark snarling at him from the cockpit after he'd taken off his earpiece and turned off his microphone. It didn't matter so much; it wasn't like they couldn't view him and her right now, but he didn't need the genius billionaire in his ear for this.

He knew from experience that he could get real reactions out of her though the moment he'd hit her with the arrow. In an interrogation or in a hospital bed, either way he knew that there was something about having to talk to someone that wounded you, which forced a genuine response, either of hate or fear. She had given him the first, and he could deal with that. Natasha had been playing with her food as it was, and once they both figured that she'd found comfort in Natasha, it time to switch out. He already noted she wasn't doing the same patient or calm crap with him as she did with the super spy. He had no doubt as to why either.

It was the classic good cop, then bad cop routine. They'd done it for years when they had to work together. He would play the bad cop. He was unsure on how totally effective it would be, as he was pretty positive he was now talking with someone who hadn't necessarily come from the clandestine or pristine walk of life. Particularly since she was an agent. Her scars spoke enough to that.

Erika's eyes flicked around the room, taking in the silver sheen of the walls and the table in front of her that glinted with the fluorescent light from above. It would be so much easier to feel nothing at the moment, to not give a damn about this case, to tell this guy to fuck off at his accurate conclusion, and to continue ripping at the cuffs until she broke her wrist. She could fight him best she could, to get killed again. It would be quicker than what was going on currently anyways…

But the Lord demanded she be here, and as such, her instincts weren't her own anymore. They were an individual's from ten years ago. They belonged to a merciless warrior that was hell bent and mission focused, willing to serve. Not some domesticated waif that had been loved, learned to love, and wanted nothing but to fall and never get up again now that those loved had been lost.

The inner conflict of it all gave her a goddamned headache and made her self-disgust ascend further. When had she become so weak? Why did she ever become the monster she had been? She'd years to contemplate the second question, and only now did she bother to entertain the first; she knew full well, had the situation not changed, she would've been perfectly content to lock away instincts, the past, and the blood lust that made her question this new found sentiment. Erika leveled a stare on him as the two conflicting thoughts tore at her psyche, but huffed. With a lean forward, she growled out, "Final question."

"You still didn't answer my second." Clint replied lowly, he could see her thoughts trailing around in the back of her mind as they reflected through her eyes. But he couldn't say one way or another what they were. She had slipped back into her head again, and left him for a bit, but now he was back, "How will you know they are what you say they are? How do you know your target will be the threat you say it will be?" His voice raised an octave, "And be straight with me."

The headache was enough to make her irritation send her off the edge, she gave him a low growl of frustration to give even an inkling to it.

"You've concluded I am an agent." She watched him nod, Erika gave one of her own, "My agency has assigned me to seek out the threat and eliminate it. By the time I find it, it has often already revealed itself, and even then it's almost too late." She glowered, "That is the nature of my position. Seek it out, and cross it out. Even now, the time is counting down and the threat grows stronger." _And I am damned useless sitting here tied to this fucking chair!_ She fought back the want to sneer; "I know it when I've come to it because all the trails for investigating it, lead me to the same point. By then, it is rather apparent. If I fail, someone else from my agency will replace me." If the word 'agency' for him, was the umbrella term needed to disguise the truth of it all: a group of warriors that were under the command of one bossy god. Whose concern for keeping its' home life and in turn the cosmos in balance, who was she to correct him? She rather liked the idea of being an 'agent' of a Lord. Or she would've if she weren't irate with her superior to begin with. It reminded her fondly of angels of the Christian religion.

 _Eat your heart out, Gabriel._ She thought bitterly, _if I'm an angel to the Lord in all this; I am fallen, I'm Lucifer._

With a petulant squirm, she shifted in her seat and repeated, "Final question, Archer."

"Hawkeye." He corrected with a clipped edge, his arms were crossed now, "and yeah…" She'd answered his question unintentionally, so he could file that away. There were totally others like her. There were others to replace her, another person to take it on if she failed the case. She was here to hunt and he was in the way. He could see that at least. He didn't need to know how the targets were chosen, he'd been an agent for his own organization, SHIELD, long enough to know that the superior would either tell the reasoning behind the orders, or it was a kill and don't ask questions. Assassins were tricky like that. But she said she was an investigator, not an assassin… She was using different words, but they had the same meaning in this case. He had no doubt with that that the thought of it all made her uncomfortable.

SHIELD training was paying off with this one. What was his last question going to be? He could get her name, but she wasn't human, thus he doubted there'd be anything on her since she was off world. As she hadn't changed her appearance though, he could always run some facial recognition in hope that there was something. She might as well have been like Thor, and an Asgardian for all they knew about her. He doubted with as much fuss she'd put up now, and so little she verbally gave him; she'd give them nearly as much as Thor had in the past.

He inhaled lowly and then let out a breath, "Who is calling the shots? Who's your superior?" They could at least know what they were dealing with. The alien in the past, Loki had more aliens, the Chitauri. Thor had Odin, he and Natasha had their once supervisor, Nick Fury. If this woman, (was she even called a woman by her kind?) was so hell-bent on getting out of here like she was; he might as well know who set her on that path. He supposed to her, it might seem like it was the noblest of paths. Kill the bad guy, save the world. But she wasn't calling the shots… and he wanted to know where that power came from, if not from her species, to die and fall out of a shadow alive once again.

She gave him a look that involved raising her lip to him and quirking a brow. A small fang showed as the color of her eyes vanished into a dark gray and she grinned softly at him. A low chuckle exited her. "Now that is the million dollar question, isn't it?" She was familiar with American currency at least, if she was using that reference. He gave a nod and tried not to be put off by the whites of her eyes vanishing. She stopped rubbing her fingers behind her back together and then let out a low breath.

"To you and I, let's just say he's an entity of divine being, and call it that."

Hawkeye withheld blanching. Well, wasn't that just freaking spectacular? She was working for a god.

He _hated_ when it when they worked for a god. His past experience had left him disliking even the notion of it. He didn't show his disdain as he flicked on his walkie-talkie and put his earpiece back in; with a silent reminder to himself that technically, his past experience had been with an alien, and not a god. She eyed him now, and he concluded that she too, was an alien. It made him dislike the situation more.

Thankfully she didn't have any mind control powers such as the one who had taken control of him did… that he knew of. He eyed her with suspicion while he kept a carefully neutral face; he then got up and turned to leave.

"I answered your three questions." He paused, a growl in her voice, "Now keep your end of the deal and take," she rattled against the cuffs, the metal clanging to the back of her chair, "these off."

He sighed and glanced over his shoulder at her, "I'll press a button as soon as I am outside the room. The cuffs will disengage." He rolled his eyes, "And then you can stop mutilating your wrists." He took a step and she stated a low 'hold on.' He turned to her, "What?"

"You never answered my own question." He gave her a blank look and she sat up a little straight. Her voice calm and but clipped and pointed, "What is HYDRA, Hawkeye?"

Oh, he never did answer that, now did he? He looked up at the ceiling and then back at her. Her eyes were faded back to a dark gray, and then faded to green. Her scars scrunched in areas with her frown as her nose was wrinkled in distaste. She was sharp, and focused in on him though. She wasn't slipped off for the moment.

He needed to keep her around, wanting more. They couldn't just let this inhuman force go running off unchecked. His training as an agent told him it was better to keep her dangling on the line, something to cling to and stick around for…

So he shrugged and looked back ahead, "Stick around lady, and you just might find out." At the pregnant silence, he knew he hit his mark right on the head. He exited the room with a smirk to himself once he got out and shut the door, before he gave a soft mutter under his breath, "Bullseye."

As they agreed, once he reached the bridge of the ship and he got to the cockpit, he pressed a small blue button. The cuffs fell to the floor with a clatter from her wrists. He looked towards the monitor as he pressed a second button, and the cuffs slipped away into a small pit that opened in the floor, which then automatically slid shut. The cuffs popped up beside him, raising up out of what looked like a disk slot after they'd traveled from the room to him. Gently he picked up the warmed metal and held them out towards Bruce Banner who eyed them quietly. "Tell me we can get a blood type and analysis on this, at the very least?"

"Who do you think you're talking to, 'Archer?'" Tony snickered with a playful jab. Clint fell into the pilot's seat exhausted, the ship already being piloted by Tony's Artificial Intelligence, Jarvis, left very little need for his attention to it. "Seems you made a friend."

"Tch. Yeah, right." He grumbled, he looked to the monitor again that had recorded their conversation, and watched as she carefully reached up and began to rub her wrists. She rose to her feet and began to stretch, "Felt like she was going to freakin' eat me alive."

"Regardless, we've got intelligence to go off of." Steve stated as he stared cross armed at the monitor. He looked towards the Asgardian that was also staring at it pensively, "What do you think, Thor? 'She from your neck of the woods?"

"I am unsure of these woods with necks you speak of." Thor replied, Steve rolled his eyes as Tony opened his mouth to comment, but couldn't before Thor raised a finger and pointed calmly towards the screen, "But whatever creature this is, is not of Asgard." He frowned and looked towards the Captain, "or of a race I have come into contact with before." He rested a hand on his hip calmly, "That does not mean that I do not know someone who does know of her species though. The All-father may have inkling to where she hails from."

"Well, before we decide to get more celestial beings involved…" Bruce Banner stated as he carefully plucked the cuffs from Clint's hand, he put them in a plastic bag in hopes to not contaminate them anymore, "Let's first see what the analysis says about our new friend."

"I agree with Banner." Stark stated easily enough, "Not that I don't like the idea of getting your dad involved here, because I don't." Thor scowled at him, "But there are too many questions here."

Steve gave his consensus with a nod, "Like what she was doing in a HYDRA cell to begin with."

"Didn't we pull the security feed from the base?" Natasha asked easily. Tony held up a finger.

"Correction, I pulled the feed from the base." She rolled her eyes as he gave a smirk, "And yes, I'll have Jarvis go over it to see if we can find anything on her…" He frowned, "We all agree that this new alien is female, right?"

"Yes, Stark." Thor grunted calmly enough, a troubled look on his face as he stroked the stubble on his beard thoughtfully, "she is a maiden."

"Okay, good. Anyway, Jarvis will find something on her if it was on the feed."


	6. Quack

**A/N:** So funny story, I'm sitting in a coffee shop working on this chapter as I flip between this, and my work computer, attempting to put together a kick ass resume that will get me a job once I am out of this program. In case you ever knew, real life is hard folks. So like every resume entry, there's four lines of story… I am almost glad see my addiction that's lasted me 10 years is now back in full force. All hail the fanfic gods. You and the readers keep me sane : ). Thank you to those who have favorited the story and are following it thus far. I would like to give a special thanks to **Daringwolf2000** , your reviews bring me a smile each time I see them, and I'm glad that you, and all who have decided to follow this adventure here enjoy it so far. I also would like to give a special thanks to **Lady Katreina** as well, though she is likely to never see this; she's been assisting me with the hypotheticals that lead to each chapter . She's basically been my soundboard for the ideas I have in the background as they pop up.

 **A/N Cont:** Another note, I am not sure on any pairings for this story yet. As for the characters involved in the listing so far, it is due to the fact that as I work on this tale, they become more prevalent in the plot to me. Thus, no worries dearies… Loki will be showing up eventually, if none of you have caught onto when and where -winks slyly-. But anyways, read, enjoy, and if you have any feedback, by all means please share. Otherwise, TALLY HO WE GO!

 **Disclaimer:** Marvel owns these fine superhero, I'll tell ya that Erika and her 'agency' though are all mine, baby!

 **PS:** Chapter written to the Avengers Assemble soundtrack, for those interested.

* * *

Erika felt relief that she was left alone in the room, and wasted no time getting to her feet once the cuffs were gone. She rubbed at her wrists tentatively as she let her eyes idly wander the space she occupied, and then down to where the cuffs had gone off too.

She was loose of the chair, now the door… She wet her lips with a low breath before she gave a glower towards it. She had no doubt that someone was probably watching. Just because 'Hawkeye' had taken off his ear piece didn't mean he'd not have friends keeping an eye on them while they spoke. Friends did that for each other after all. She grimaced, the only friends she could think of were coworkers who were likely laughing at the situation.

This is what you get for being so young. They would have mocked, Did you really think the Lord would just let you go after all that is Invested into one of us? She almost growled in contempt but at last, ran a sore hand through her hair, untangling knots around the way.

Once she was out, that would be the first thing to go. She had to ditch the length, Cut it down to a pixie cut, from there, maybe dye it red. She found herself making plans as she distracted herself from the chortles and giggles in the back of her head of the humiliation that she would suffer when she faced her coworkers, and the devastation she was already undergoing. She would wear leather, not totally, that would be too high profile, but a jacket. She would need to find out if this world was as focused as her own on appearance, she guessed so by the flashiness of her captors.

So makeup, scars didn't hide themselves after all. She used the table to hold herself up with a hand as she leaned against it with a grimace. Her love had loved her scars, kissed each one of them, mentioned they told a story, were a map to a tale from long ago, gave her some pride in them…

She felt like she was going to vomit as a tremor raked through her. She shook her head blinking rapidly, Not a had, she loves them. She wasn't gone… Erika was. She tried to pull her mind back from the spiral it was setting on and bent forward, resting her head against the table. It was cool before it began to heat up underneath her forehead. She took long deep breaths.

"Focus." She whispered, shutting her eyes, "Focus up..."

Boots. Boots and jeans, skinny maybe so that way they could slip in the boots perfectly. A casual look. She needed to look like she could be talked too. Not a femme fatale, not someone who was likely to drag an unsuspecting person from an alley, kicking and terrified. Maybe a quite gal with a book to read. She smiled lightly, she couldn't neglect the gloves though. Brown. She'd liked the earthy look to it all, black hair, green eyes, she'd choose a dark green shirt, maybe a gold chain if she could find it… Jeans and boots. Lace ups, maybe to the ankle, perhaps the shin.

With the makeup, she'd look approachable at least, with the easy, but focused demeanor, she'd be a conversationalist. Constantly reading the other individual. She needed to blend…

She held back a frown as she realized she was trying to look like her love. She rubbed her eyes as she stood back up with another deep breath. It didn't matter. If imitation was the best form of flattery, she would accept it. She had a chink in her armor that was huge and needed mending. What came next? She leaned against the table after she turned around. A base of operations. She glanced around the room again. One preferably bigger than the box she was stuck in. She tried to recall the old bases, the ones she'd made before the stable household and family and worries about schools and Parenting and-

Her hand slammed hard into the metal table with a fist, she felt rather than heard the crack as pain raked her senses that caused a low, "Sonuvabitch!" as she looked at her fingers. she reached down and gingerly touched her pinkie and ring finger on her right hand, the finger bent awkwardly now. With a grimace and a snarl she snapped it back into place with a yank and waved her hand gingerly. It pulled her away from her thoughts though, just like the ache in her wrists drew her attention to the crescent cuts on top of them. Erika drew a finger over them pensively.

There was an easy way out of this box, and it involved a lot of blood and the world going black… she'd be in the realm of her Lord again, and he'd send her back, hopefully out of the box and on the ground… She grimaced.

Erika couldn't be that lucky. She looked around the room, old gears catching and turning. Guess that means I have to find my own way out. Her eyes roamed the room one last time, before she gave a glower at the wall. This could take a while.

* * *

They'd found her appearance on the feed in less than five minutes. It was dated a week and a half ago when she first appeared. They all watched as a woman dropped out of thin air onto the ground of the main base, before she looked up and about. HYDRA agents immediately were still with the shock before they lunged in on her. The black and white image played accordingly, the woman's form was tackled to the ground. That was was when the resistance began, a hand had grasped the first HYDRA soldier's belt and found their gun and pistol whipped the soldier.

Clint frowned as she touched the barrel to the soldier's helmeted head and squeezed the trigger, his body falling back after his head whipped back from the force. She'd been about to get to her feet when two more lunged in and got her arms. Though there was no sound, yelling was evident as men crowded in to beat the woman down and get her under control. Soon things settled and a rather bloodied individual was held up by her arms, legs out from under her as she was kept upright by the same men who beat her down. Bloody faced and obviously angry, she was dragged off kicking and struggling before the butt of a gun met her skull and she collapsed unconscious.

A snarl of a curse caused them to jerk their head to the monitor that held their current occupant, Natasha frowned as she watched the woman relocate her fingers and likely realign the bone. She was searching the walls and ceiling now, no doubt in investigation for a way out. Her back turned to one camera and gave them a frontal view of her from another as she rested her hands on the table and hung her head.

A calm, crisp British voice rang over the intercom in their main deck, "Mr. Stark, I have found more footage of the miss before your encounter. Would you like to review it?"

Tony nodded, "Go ahead and bring it up, Jarvis." The opposite screen they had observed the feed fast forwarded before it moved to a different scene all together. There was a single table positioned vertically and the investigator was strapped down to it. Her bare feet pressed to the outcropping on the bottom as her forehead, chin, wrists, and ankles were strapped in place.

This feed had sound, and each little shift she made or grunt that left her was picked up on it. The door opened and a man donning a white lab coat came onto screen. He moved in front of her, _"So my young friend."_ He stopped and put his hands behind his back, _"It has been three days, and still you have yet to tell us anything."_ He motioned to the side. A woman with a black skirt, white button up short-sleeve, and a pair of glasses with her hair pulled back into bun, carried a tray. _"I am afraid I may have to start getting rather brutal on you should you not give me anything to go off of."_

He received spit to the face and a snarl that wasn't even remotely human. A scowl had settled on her face as she'd lashed against the binds. Slowly the man wiped the spit from his cheek, staring at it as though in fascination, before he back handed her. A crack went through the air and a yelp followed. He waved the back of his hand, _"I suppose I will just have to break you then…"_ He beckoned for the woman who approached him, and a knife was handed to him, _"Now then dear, where shall I begin?"_

 _"Shove it up your ass, you quack."_

Tony stopped the video there, he really didn't need to see much more. he let the others glance at him before he questioned, "Jarvis, in review, does she tell them anything?"

"No sir, I have three more counts of the young woman undergoing abuse such as this, and footage of the hallway upon your entry to the cell." The AI reviewed, with a nod Tony waved his hand.

"Go ahead and take us to today, when we busted in." He would much rather see that.

"Wanting to review your glory, Stark?" Clint teased lightly with a good-nature smile, Tony rolled his eyes as he shook his head.

"Just wait and see what she does, bird brain…"

They watched as the Iron Man blasted down HYDRA soldiers, and then the door. They couldn't see in until Tony's head had stuck in, speaking to her, and he got the orders to give backup. He stepped back, after talking to her, and left. Meekly, she'd stuck her head out and made sure the coast was clear. Once it was, she moved quickly, swiping up a loose gun that had been abandoned and checking over it, and the clip. Quickly she popped it out and held it in her hand, before she slid it back in. A guard who's eyes had opened moved towards her in a roll and Tony grunted as she'd turned, heel slamming down into his face and a crack going through the air. Her bare foot touched the floor and she'd stilled, hand up, gun pointed at the ceiling and watched as the man stopped breathing and moving completely.

"Well, I wouldn't say she's too friendly." Banner murmured lowly as she moved to remove the man's boots. She sat down on the ground and began to lace them on, staring at her foot for a moment before shoving it into the boot and relieving the soldier of his holster and accompanying explosives.

"Now we know where she got the artillery." Steve huffed, he crossed his arms. "Can't say I approve." His blue eyes blazed into the screen as he critiqued the events happening before him. A man who was next to her on her opposite side, eyes opened, and moved onto her. He didn't move for a few seconds before it seemed she was fully occupied. He quickly rolled into a lunge.

Their mystery detective leveled the gun on his head as soon as she caught him in the corner of her eye and fired, stilling if only for a moment as his head fell back and he hit the ground. She flinched as the gunfire went off and her eyes had widened, her face otherwise expressionless.

Natasha watched as lips pulled into a frown, and she looked down at the gun in her hand. The frown deepened as she looked between it, and the body. The spy spoke up softly, "It was on reflex." Clint gave a hum with a nod. How many arrows had he shot during the battle of New York that saved his skin because he didn't think and let his body act accordingly?

"Then how come she didn't attack Tony when he came through her door?" Banner inquired as her form stumbled over a body and a loud curse exited her while she face planted.

"Seems she's been out of the field for a while." Steve replied, a quirked brow raised as the monitor showed her exiting the building through the hallways, before the monitor shut off, "She's definitely trained." He turned his gaze towards Natasha and Clint, "What do you think?"

"I agree she's been out of the game for a while and her training is rusty." Clint agreed, "Her popping out of nowhere would definitely make it so HYDRA wanted her."

Natasha gave a nod, "Who knows what they would find out if she cracked… Did they ever find out how?"

Tony turned to someone who wasn't there, "Jarvis?" He inquired, "Did Femme Dracula spill the beans?"

"Records indicate that the miss did not speak of any details as to how she came to Earth, sir." Tony gave a nod and turned back towards Natasha, his mouth opening before the AI continued, "She did confirm to HYDRA however that she believes to be working for a divine entity of sorts." His face fell and he turned towards the monitor with a sigh.

"Alright Jarvis, roll the footage."

"Right away, sir." The screen flicked on again, it was the same room that she'd been strapped to a table in. Strapped once again, her head was free this time. Blood pooled down at her feet and peppered the floor as a low hiss exited gritted teeth as the doctor stood in front of her.

" _One last time, my dear."_ The lab coated man paced, scalpel in hand, "Tell me how you did it, or I will be forced to take drastic measures."

A growl exited her and he received spit to the face again. He let out a yell of frustration and twisted, the scalpel cut into her flesh and a shrill whine exited. He reached up and grasped at her hair, pulling it back. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head for a moment as he snarled, _"Tell Me! I am tired of your games!"_ At the whisper of 'go to hell,' he let go of her head with force. A loud 'thud' echoed in the room as her head collided with the panel behind it, her head slumped forward. Breaths exited in gasped wheezes and soft inaudible whispers pulled from her. "Hmm? What was that?" He leaned forward in mock enthusiasm and turned his ear to her, cupping it. _"What are you saying?"_ He leaned closer, her lips stopped moving and she stilled all together. Natasha caught her body starting to tense.

He hovered too close to her, before he then let out a scream as her teeth cut into his ear and he tried to move way. They watched as she twisted her head in a ferocious motion while he writhed, and blood stained her teeth and lips as the dark liquid flowed into them. He jerked away shrieking, holding his ear as she twisted her head away from his floundering, and spat out the part of his ear she tore out. A barking laugh exited her as he move away.

 _"Because Some Fucking God Thought It'd Have A Laugh and Shove Me In Here to Deal With The Vermin!"_ She bore her teeth at him in a grin, _"And Isn't It Just a Riot That He Shoves Me In With the Rats, First Thing?"_ Her laughter bordered on hysteria.

The scene ended as guards flooded into the room, and painful screams soon erupted. Her arms and legs restrained, she was helpless to the beating that came. The screen shut off.

"Records from the base report that the guards were ordered to deny her food and water following the incident." The polite voice of the AI iterated.

"Guess the doctor didn't like getting his ear torn off." Clint grunted with a shrug, he sighed and sat back in his chair, "So… What are we going to do with her? We can't let her go out into public."

"Well of course not, cupid." Tony muttered, Clint felt for a moment he was using cupid instead of 'stupid' but refrained from speaking, he gained an intrigued look, "Now if only we could figure out how she did the magic act though."

"I fear this is magic you should not tamper with, Stark." Thor murmured lowly. He had a grave frown on his face as he stared at the screen, "It has already been meddled with enough."

"What, by the mad scientist?" Thor nodded to the billionaire.

"Yes. Tales speak of enraging gods by thwarting their messengers from their paths."

"I don't know if you noticed Thor." Banner stated simply enough as he began to clean his glasses on his shirt after whipping them off his face, "But I don't think gods are going to step in when their number one hitter is already wielding a bat and is taking head shots."

"I do not understand the reference." Thor murmured with his brows furrowed, before he shook his head. "Never the less, the scientist thwarted with a divine messenger."

"I don't think we're talking divine messenger here, Thor." Clint frowned, "She said it herself, she's here to weed out some threat."

"Thor." Natasha cut in, she had a curious look on her face, "You stated you heard tales to something similar of this?" She gave Clint a quick frown and looked back to the Asgardian.

Thor paused but nodded now, he crossed his arms and rubbed his chin, "They are tales told to Asgard children, much like that of Jötunheimr and of the ice giants. Very rarely true, however, it speaks of godly warriors sent as a threat is blooming."

"Blooming? What, does the threat grow petals." Muttered Tony, annoyed, he was given a reproachful look from Hawkeye as the Black Widow gestured for Thor to continue.

Thor's face turned to a pensive indifferent look, ignoring Stark all together, "It is told to children that the warriors will descend upon the land when monsters begin to appear and attack. There is very little description however on the creature that appears, and often the parents utilize it to thwart children from taking a dishonorable path away from the glory of Asgard; as it became custom that a powerful thought down a dishonorable path was key." He gestured to the second monitor, where their captive was being kept, "But she is not of Asgard, nor of any race that would have been described in the story; and as I said, it is a tale for children." He gave a low chuckle softly, "She is not fit to fight the demons that appear within the realms."

Clint ran a hand through his hair with a frown and Steve said voiced what the archer was thinking, "Stories change depending on the teller." Thor gave a nod of his own in agreement, before he continued, "And if she's got dormant reflexes, there is no telling what she can handle."

"Well… Why don't we just ask her?" Tony stated nonchalantly, "Banner and I will go in and-"

"No." Steven cut him off and Tony gave an exasperated look as he twisted to the soldier, "I'll go in." At the silence, he shrugged, "She's working for someone, and in turn is a soldier sent to fight a battle from the sounds of it, and if not, has been in the past." He nodded towards the monitor, before he repeated, "So I'll go in."

* * *

It'd been at least an hour by the time the Archer hand left, and Erika still hadn't figured out a miraculous way out. So she'd taken to sitting in the chair with her feet kicked up in contemplation, hands behind her head as she rested on two legs of the chair. Her ears were burning and she was rather lax for the time. Her mind had been focused rather hard on the door in front of her in an attempt to create a way that would allow her to escape.

So far, no scenario she ran through it ended well. Each ended with that door, which she still hadn't figured out a way to get open. There were plenty of ways once outside it. Death, was the easy option of course. Either through open hatch or the nearest weapon. Then there was the attempt to bargain. She didn't imagine it would go well at all. She had tried the door a few times too, for her credit. With no handles, she couldn't turn it open; it was a motorized sliding door. She didn't feel strong enough to try and kick it off the track either… the bird felt and looked too well built for that. So she'd taken to staring at the ceiling.

There was a small vent that led into the room, but it was too small for anyone except an animal of some sort. There was also the bright light overhead that still lit up the room.

She honestly hated it more than anything, and had attempted to hit it with her boot a few times to take it out. The glass or cover was reinforced; thus no matter how many times she hit it, it wasn't happening. She wished she still had the gun on her, but guessed it was likely bullet-proof.

It had been a while since she'd been in a world this modern. It was advanced by most of her standards; even beating out her home planet. She rubbed her face as she opened her eyes, hand over her mouth, her finger rubbed over one of the scars on her chin. Perhaps she could bargain her way out? The robotic man had stunned her into unconsciousness and she was rather bitter about it. But she supposed that she could just dismantle his head and it would take a lot of her anger out about the matter.

Erika's eyes snapped open as she heard the hiss off the door and she looked down from her perfect view of the ceiling towards the entry way. A man taller, and broader, than Hawkeye, strapped in a red, white, and dark blue suit stepped into the room. The door shut behind him immediately.

She was surprised when he didn't sit, she thus stared at him as he eyed her up with deep blue eyes from his position in front of the door. She spoke the first thing that came through her mind.

"You look like an American flag."

Steven frowned, his lip out in a thoughtful pout, "I'm surprised you're familiar with it, what with being from a different world."

Erika's face immediately brightened with a look of intrigue, her feet dropped from the table and she sat up, fingers laced together as her elbows rested on her knees and she hunched, "an America exists here?" She looked away from him, "Well I'll be damned." She looked him up and down and then came to his face again, "So who are you? Birdman and Romanoff were already in here…"

"We reviewed the videos from the base." Steven watched as her face dropped, "We know you killed those two men." He studied her as he watched her face go carefully blank. Her eyes however seemed to sharpen with thought and calculation. Rather than immediately deny it or speak anything, her face fell and her head bowed. She ran a hand through her hair, her lip in a pout and her foot bouncing.

She spoke of nerves and as her lips pulled into a frown and her eyes into a wince, she gained a pained expression. "I wasn't attempting to kill anyone, I just wanted to get the hell out of there…" Her voice was low and she looked back and forth, then back to him, "It wasn't intentional, I swear."

Steve studied her, then crossed his arms and leaned against the door, "You know the last aliens that were here…" He watched her eyes widen and still on his face, "Tried to take over the earth under the influence of some mad alien who thought he was a god."

She inhaled slowly, and he watched her gulp before she gave a slow nod, "You run into those."

He gave a bob of his head in agreement, "We beat him though, but since then we don't take too kindly to those who say they're doing work or are on behalf of an alien god." He watched her stiffen, but then she glowered at him with a half mast eyes.

Erika couldn't help but feel the beginnings of irritation bubble at the bottom of her throat. She blinked and let out a low breath through her nostrils. So she was correct, they had aliens before, invaders no less. That made things a little harder with being not so human. She still looked and acted the part, now more than ever in fact. She knew deep down she wasn't though. It was like a resounding echo in the back of her head at this point, particular since the start of the case. She licked her lip, "I mean no harm to your home…" She hated that she felt small as she said it, but his gaze set her off kilter. He scowled, "I really don't. I just want to finish my case and get the hell out."

She mostly wanted to return to the undefined space the Lord laid in, as there she would be left undisturbed and allowed to feel nothing. The frustration of the case was weighing on her, and her mind would give out its resistance to the memories and ache that wanted to flood in if she did not make way. The case was a distraction, and even now, he was a distraction. She didn't want him to stomp away or go, anymore than she wanted him ruining her case.

"Your case is the concern. We don't have any clue what you're talking about. We're taking care of the main threat right now, HYDRA."

"I still don't know what that is, and it's rather frustrating considering they locked me up." It wasn't a snap, but Steve definitely noted the edge. Her eyes still were sharp as they bore into his own, "And I feel I at least deserve to know who they are when they-"

"We saw what they did to you." He watched her eyes widen and her shoulders tense up. She fell silent and looked away. He looked her up and down with appraisal and murmured, "You can take a beating as well as the Hulk can." She noted the deflection, but allowed it to continue anyways.

"Who?"

"He's the big green guy." Recognition showed on her face and she sat back.

"...Oh."

* * *

 **Thanks for reading!  
**


End file.
